Subsonic Radio

Although I loved the original Journey Into Imagination, and it was probably my favorite ride at Disney World, I think JII with figment is even worse than JIYI. Two reasons:
a) figment is now extremley annoying
b) some of the things in JIYI were pretty "imaginative" (i.e. connect the dots, butterfly in a cage, musical colors, etc...)

Which of the two newest versions does everybody else prefer?

I do have to agree that figment is now the most annoying thing there. Why can't Fig be like before smart and funny not like a child.

I can't believe they changed it in the first place. It almost brought me to tears. BRING BACK THE OLD RIDE!!!!!!!!

I had to vote 'with Figment', though honestly it's like picking which is the least rotten fruit to eat. Given how much I liked the original, neither of these do it for me.

I definitely agree that Figment lost a lot of his sparkle in the reincarnated version, but the tone of JIYI really bothered me. It was kind of along the lines of the Tiki room debacle, but instead of Iago insulting the guests, it was Eric Idle. I happen to find Eric Idle more entertaining than Iago, but that's kind of neither here nor there.

I also think a lot of the cool visual stuff from JIYI is still there, isn't it? I know the butterfly is. I did like the way JIYI used that first 'train' room, though, much better than it is now. That was a cool effect (well, assuming you had the imagination to make it work - which is what good professor Channing/Idle was telling you you didn't... )

wow... i don't even remember starting this thread... i'm not even sure if i still agree with it... i think it was more along the lines of effects. while the theme of jiyi was terrible, the effects were pretty cool (train, connect the dots, sound of color).

while the theme (really just the ending) of jii-wf is better, the effects are really low-level. the train effect is basically useless and the rest is just video screens (and the whole skunk thing makes me cringe - it could have been any other secnt in the world and they chose a skunk. plus, the figment we used to know wouldn't do that sort of thing.) the only good thing is the ending, but even then, it's probably because it's so reminiscient of the original. i really hate figment now though, almost as much as i hate stitch.

they need to find a happy medium.

Well the original was better by far, but having figment back is better than the previous "updated" version. This whole fiasco ranks as a major screw up for Epcot IMHO.

I think being told you have no imagination until Disney tells you what to think is just slightly worse than Figment being an annoying pest who poots on you. But it's a tough call.

I felt that the new Imagination had Figment as an annoying creature as opposed to being a cute one. It's like they made the attraction more for kids than the whole family.

SimonTemplar wrote:Well the original was better by far, but having figment back is better than the previous "updated" version. This whole fiasco ranks as a major screw up for Epcot IMHO.

I agree 100%. I often wonder who gives the green light on so many of these attraction decisions.

unfortunately I've only seen the lastest one, so I have no clue what the other one was like.

I loved the original Journey Into Imagination, and it was probably my favorite ride at Disney World. It Inspired me greatly and made a big impact on my life, as stupid as that may sound. I miss it, I can't believe what they did to it, it pratically brought me to tears. Choosing Figment or no Figment is like choosing the lesser of two evils. My brother saw it when it was without Figment, and he said you see how crappy this ride is with Figment, well imagine it being the same excact crappy ride only even more crappy without him. We Joke that Mickey put a hit on Figment 'cause he had become so popular in the 80's that people were actually saying that he should become the offical mascot for Epcot, and oh boy Mickey didn't like that, nobody upstages Mickey in his own World. So steadily Figment has continued to disappear a little more every year, from the ride, and from epcot and off the shelves. Last time I was there I wore Figment horns I had bought years before, Cast members from Epcot asked me what character they were from. People today don't even know of the old ride, so they're like why do you like Figment? he's not very cool. All I can say is Figment learned the hard way. Don't Mess With The Mouse!

I much prefer the less popular Journey Into YOUR Imagination. As patronizing as the ride was, it had more interesting moments than its successor, specifically the constellation room and the upside down room. But in retrospect it was too preoccupied with rationality and reason, which is the antithesis of imagination, magic, and mystery (an epidemic that I believe plagues a lot of the recent attractions). The current version tries to address this issue with its storyline (the rigid, rational Dr. Channing vs. the free-spirited Figment), but its efforts merely reinforce the rationality of the previous version. This is primarily because scenes are merely used as a means of moving an insipid plot forward. Furthermore, the new ride is terribly annoying and bombastic.

The original was undoubtedly one of Disney Imagineering's crowning achievements, despite some flaws (i.e. the ending, which I always thought was underwhelming). The ride was a subtle and visually astounding evocation of the creative process, and unblemished by stupid fart jokes and oppressive plots. It is unfortunate that the company sabotaged it, but unsurprising considering that Disney is a business whose only obligation is to make money, not art.

I prefer the ride with Figment, and less annoying! I liked the original ride and was disappointed with the new one. Hopefully this attraction will get a face lift soon!

When I was at EPCOT in February, the attraction was closed. I was hoping they were redoing it (perhaps bringing back the old attraction or something resembling it). However I was just there last week and it was reopen unchanged. oh well, EPCOT is still my favorite park.

I prefer the old ride. But, since I can't have that anymore, I prefer the one with Figment. At least it makes the terrible not quite so terrible.